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* Scott Lee Cohen hasn’t yet filed his formal withdrawal papers with the State Board of Elections, but he will tomorrow, his spokesman Baxter Swilley said this afternoon. The campaign was simply distracted with media interviews today and hasn’t had time to file the paperwork.

Swilley also tried to tamp down speculation that Cohen would run as an independent candidate. Here’s the NBC5 report….

[Cohen] alluded to the possibility he would run independently in an interview Monday.

“I ran for office to help the people,” Cohen said. “The problem was the media was hammering me so bad…This is more outrageous because I gave the people the opportunity to know. It was out there, they all knew!”

Asked whether he wouldn’t run for office, Cohen said “I never said that. I realized from this whole thing that every single thing you say is on the record.”

As for the signatures required to run as an independent, Cohen says it wouldn’t be a problem.

“You know how many signatures I had before? 47 thousand.”

The spokesman emphasized to me today that Cohen never actually said he is intending to run for any office as an independent.

Nerves are obviously a bit frayed over at HQ and the media may be trying to make more of something than is actually there.

...Adding… Cohen had this to say to Channel 5 today…

“There were no promises,” Cohen said. “[Speaker Madigan] never promised he was going to fundraise for me.”

Madigan’s spokesman just said that there were zero promises made to Cohen and that Madigan would neither directly nor indirectly help Cohen raise money in any form whatsoever.

Just FYI.

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 3:30 pm

Comments

time for wttw to skype you in for tonights broadcast. enough with the amateurs. if brady can do it, you can do it.

Comment by shore Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 3:33 pm
Pawnbroker-cum politician? Good lord, that is an awful typo. Somebody please do something about that.

Comment by Heartless Libertarian Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 3:41 pm
LOL. You’re right. I edited it.

Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 3:42 pm
I hate to say this….. but Cohen’s partially right. Had the media, the other Lt. Gov candidates, and the party leadership actually done their job and properly vet/research/report the guy, we wouldn’t be in this mess, SLC wouldn’t have sunk $2 million for nothing, and this wouldn’t be another tally in the laughing stock that is recent Illinois political history.

Comment by TJ Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 3:44 pm
Darn, I want him to cause more trouble. Look at all the flaws he’s exposed, in addition to his own. I just figure the guy is a little teed off and he seems like the type to do something about it when he’s teed off. Madigan is right, he may able to turn this around.

So if Madigan thinks he may be able to turn this around and could be politician some day, what were the other fools talking about saying he is completely unfit for public office? Lisa Madigan and Michael Madigan aren’t on the same page here. Lisa says Cohen is completely unfit while MJM says he could be fit, just not in this race at this time tied to Quinn.

Darnit, but I’m coming out of this liking MJM more than before. True, he blew it big time with incompetent hands not doing background checks before the primary, but from what I’ve seen after he’s taken some classy actions.

Comment by TaxMeMore Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 3:44 pm
He can’t resign an office he’s not been elected to. The winners will not be certified until March.

All the rope-a-dope has to do with disguising the payoff.

If he does get off, the likely replacements in order:

1. Art Turner
2. Susan Garrett
3. Linda Holmes
4. Mike Jacobs (if he didn’t have the attitude problem, he’d be a cinch).

Comment by True Observer Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 3:48 pm
I agree TJ, Cohen does have some reason to be teed off. This isn’t all on him, and that should be clear. The people that tried to pin it all on him, Lisa Madigan, Miller, Alexi etc, without accepting any responsibility should do thinking. This isn’t over.

Comment by TaxMeMore Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 3:50 pm
Silly question. If he withdraws tomorrow…but results aren’t certified until two weeks from now…does Turner win?

Comment by Concerned Observer Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 3:52 pm
No.

Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 4:00 pm
==3. Linda Holmes ==

Oh, man I hope so….

Comment by OneMan Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 4:01 pm
Thanks. That’s what I figured but…let’s just say it’s been a weird day. Not thinking clearly.

Comment by Concerned Observer Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 4:01 pm
Linda Holmes?? please explain. more like Linda Chapa LaVia

Comment by wonder boy Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 4:02 pm
What the Cohen situation does is highlight any questionable behavior the rest of the slate may have.

This newfound interest in a candidate’s past is going to show itself with Giannoulais, Quinn, the next Lt. Gov nominee, Miller and Kelly. What I have learned over the years about the media is that when they are exposed as dropping the ball, they start dropping the hammer on everyone around them to demonstrate that they were not to blame.

Like a 90 year old security guard who is embarrassed by a run of bad publicity about his naps, the traditional Illinois media is going to start pulling their gun at everyone they get near in order to defend themselves.

As to Cohen - he was such an extreme. Normally I would have advised someone in his position to spin the issue out and use it to their advantage. Cohen was far too damaged to do that.

If Quinn was on the ball, he would have pulled Cohen into meetings immediately and forced him into an official spin that didn’t damage Quinn. The longer Cohen talked, the worse the damage that Quinn had to overcome. The fact that Cohen resigned is a break to Quinn, not just because he was Quinn’s running mate - but because Quinn handled the situation so poorly.

The Cohen situation was very badly handled by a political party that one would expect to be a model for handling corrupted public officials.

Sloppy going into the election, slopping getting through the election, sloppy handling the problem after the election. At what point can we expect a SWAT team for toxic politicians to sweep in the middle of a political situation, net the offending lunatic loose on stage, and make them disappear without detection.

After years of corrupted government officials, you would think that someone would have this in place, wouldn’t you?

Comment by VanillaMan Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 4:11 pm
===they start dropping the hammer on everyone around them to demonstrate that they were not to blame.===

I think you’re right, but I happen to think it will be mostly confined to Cohen’s replacement and maybe the GOP’s lt guv candidate.

Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 4:13 pm
Cohen should have just went where ever Tiger is and stayed on the ballot. I think he gave in too easy. But that press conference, that was goofy.

Comment by PPHS Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 4:15 pm
PPHS, keep in mind that Tiger quit for a year.

Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 4:15 pm
==Still nervous?===

Well, not now….but I was preparing to panic. LOL

Comment by Deep South Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 4:18 pm
Somebody PLEASE explain why Linda Holmes would be a candidate for Lt. Gov????? She has a hard enough time being a Senator!

Comment by My Opinion Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 4:22 pm
Belatedly, Rich, thank you for the hat tip this weekend. I saw that story and got a great long laugh. If Allred (now I know how to spell it) got business because of that comment I’d like to request a commission, but I’m sure I wasn’t the only one that thought of her when I saw “the prostitute’s” mugshot on every TV with the revelation she still worked at a “spa”.

And like a bright bulb, sometimes my bulb is just totally off. But I try. More of the bulbs are bright here than you see elsewhere by far, I would agree with.

Comment by TaxMeMore Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 4:30 pm
Wonder boy,

I think One Man wants Holmes on the Quinn ticket because he is a Republican and sees her as a liability.

Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 4:37 pm
OK, enough on Holmes. She’s not being mentioned by anybody outside of this blog, I’m sure. Move along.

Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 4:37 pm
On a different subject… Do you think he is going to pay his folks until November?

Comment by OneMan Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 4:50 pm
Maybe they should offer it to Rich Whitney. Two birds with one stone.

Comment by TaxMeMore Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 5:02 pm
The Democratic Party of Illinois has historically promoted diversity in its slate making efforts and we currently await the finalized selection for Lt. Governor scheduled for later this month. To that end, I am calling for the Democratic Party to slate a viable Hispanic candidate to fill this position and to carry forth a balanced and diverse ticket for the general election.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in Illinois, approximately 2 million or 15 percent of Illinois’ population are Hispanic, making them the single largest minority group in the nation.
The Republican Party appears to have understood the importance of a Hispanic candidate in this year’s election which is reflective our community and its interests. The Democratic Party of Illinois must understand and recognize the exceptional differences among our state’s population and ensure it is reflective in its leadership.
Sen. Iris Martinez is my choice and I am sure that Sen Claybourne can deliver the downstate for her.

Comment by He Gone... Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 5:06 pm
my opinion — lol.

Comment by city girl Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 5:16 pm
I sort of feel sorry for Cohen but, then, I
believe in giving people a second chance to
straighten out their lives and then seeing
what kind of person they are NOW.

Comment by Esteban Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 5:20 pm
Esteban, second chances are what this country is about. But this was just too much in totality, man. Too much. He should’ve saved his money.

Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 5:25 pm
=== “The problem was the media was hammering me so bad…This is more outrageous because I gave the people the opportunity to know. It was out there, they all knew!” ===

Dear Mr. Cohen:

WE can blame the media for not digging through your records.

But unless you issued a press release I’m unaware of where you detailed the accusations in your divorce, your unpaid child support and taxes, the knife-wielding accusations of your ex-girlfriend, YOU don’t get to blame the media and claim they knew.

Moreover, every one of the press releases I’ve seen on your website refers to as the small business owner of a green cleaning company, a company which now appears to be a sham you created just for your campaign. So let’s not pretend you’re Jimmy Stewart.

We want to like ya, or atleast feel sorry for you, but you’ve got to stop defending yourself for that to happen.

Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 5:32 pm
Esteban -

The pleas for giving Scott Cohen a second chance were hamstrung by his inability to admit he did anything wrong the first time around.

For the most part he either says he doesn’t remember or it didn’t happen that way.

Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 5:34 pm
He Gone:

What about Linda Chapa LaVia, whose not from Chicago, or Roberto Cornelio, whose from the private sector?

Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 5:39 pm
As Chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party, in hindsight, Madigan should have vetted SLC before it got to this stage. However, I have to say he gave Cohen respect and did a very good job in at least for now “peacefully” resolving the situation, and rather promptly, if I may say so. Madigan, unlike Daley, apparently informed Cohen how bad it would get for him and his family. This is not simply about the voters have spoken. Cohen needed to be informed of what his life would be like if he decided to stay in the race. Madigan succeeded in helping SLC understand what was ahead before he decided to resign. I hope Cohen is the “better” man right now. He certainly seems like he turned his life around. Nevertheless, it would have been a disaster for Quinn. The fact is no one forced Cohen to resign. He did it on his own. If Madigan was heavy handed and the “monster” that some people make him out to be, you can bet Cohen would be the first to say so.

Comment by anon Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 5:57 pm
The talk about Cohen running for office as an independent is pointless because state law prohibits it.

From the 2010 Candidate’s Guide:

A candidate for whom a nomination paper has been filed as a partisan candidate at
a Primary Election, and who is defeated for nomination, is prohibited from being
listed on the ballot as an independent candidate or as a candidate of another
political party, and may not file a Declaration of Intent to be a Write-In Candidate
at that General Election. (10 ILCS 5/7-61, 10-3, 17-16.1, 18-9.1)

And does anyone else think the craziest thing about this mess is that he wants others to help reimburse the money spent on the campaign?

Comment by BloomingtonDem Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 5:58 pm
Anybody thought about grabbing his petitions and see who circulated/signed them?

Comment by GMK Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 6:03 pm
Vanilla- Cohen may be a sleazy individual, but he is not a “corrupted public official” because he’s never been a public official and hence has never had a chance to take a corrupt action in office.

Comment by DuPage Dave Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 6:04 pm
BloomingtonDem

“and who is defeated for nomination”

Scott Lee Cohen was not defeated for nomination? A. Stevenson in 1986 was able to drop and run 3rd party and they said Quinn could have done that this time, so I believe that is also true for Cohen.

Comment by TaxMeMore Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 6:28 pm
No deals were made, no promises….wasn’t that Roland Burris’ first statement too?

Comment by Edison Parker Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 6:42 pm
Now that he is out…will the replacement candidate depend on who is the certified winner of the Repub. primary for Gov? Or does that not matter?

Comment by really? Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 6:55 pm
Bloomington Dem

I doubt that Cohen would run as independent but I am not sure if that statue would prevent him from doing so. Notice the part that says and who is defeated for nomination. Cohen won, I am not an expert on election law by it would seem to me that he would not be covered by that statue because he won not lost and choose to have himself removed from the ticket.

Comment by RMW Stanford Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 7:17 pm
Here’s the ironic part.

SLC goes on the record and admits to his transgressions BEFORE the election. He said he was trying to get everything out in the open. And by and large, he did.

Giannoulias’ bank gets in big trouble with the Feds the week before the election and he literally tells reporters “if I win the election, we can have that conversation,” about the details of the problems. I have yet to see any follow up on this comment/issue.

Therefore, the candidate who tells the truth and doesn’t hide from his past is kicked off the ticket and the one who obviously has something to hide, is still on it.

Rich and other members of the media, at some point, you’ll have to realize that this is about YOUR credibility and your integrity.

We’re all watching.

Comment by Logical Thinker Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 7:28 pm
Logic Thinker. Time to pick a new handle.

Your premise is that SLC told the truth…and you qualified it with…for the most part, he did. Either he always told the truth, sometimes told the truth, or never told the truth.

Even you admit, SLC did not always tell the truth. In my opinion, SLC at best hinted at the possible truth. You conclude the candidate who tells the truth (you suggest always - rather than your qualified “sometimes”) was bounced off the ticket.

SLC’s sometimes telling the truth became a drip…drip…drip of half truths and only one possible conclusion, SLC does not always tell the truth.

Giannoulias has been elected once and presumed vetted…but he has much explaining to do (and he is lucky the focus is on SLC). He may get his day playing logic games in the near future.

And stop complaining about the media. It is getting old. LS…You have a computer. You know how to use Google. Stay informed and learn to connect the dots.

Comment by washedmyhands Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 8:10 pm
Yellow Dog- I think Linda Chapa La Via would be great but Roberto Cornelio. Is this the same Roberto Cornelio who is from the IHCC the same group where Juan Ochoa, Rod’s Latino Guy, gave money to Rod for appointments and for state jobs? And is in trouble at MPEA? And has not helped anyone that did’nt pony up?

Comment by He Gone... Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 8:13 pm
I have been thinking about this the whole day. When a friend called me last night to tell me the news, I said, “has he filed the resignation with the SBE? Until he does so, I don’t believe it”

Logical: I dont remember his ever revealing the hooker and domestic violence charges in his numerous direct mail or radio ads. So, sorry, your points don’t hold water.

As for the rest of it, I am SO GLAD I only work campaigns when i choose to.

Comment by this old hack Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 8:14 pm
–Vanilla- Cohen may be a sleazy individual, but he is not a “corrupted public official” because he’s never been a public official and hence has never had a chance to take a corrupt action in office. –

Try not to confuse him anymore than he already is.

Comment by wordslinger Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 8:40 pm
There’s an aspect of the Giannoulias story that is going unreported…regarding ethics in his one term as Treasurer. No one who works for him is given a stack of tickets to sell to fundraisers. Employees aren’t required to take a personal day to go cheer for him at Democrat Day at the State Fair. No one can have a lunch purchased for them by a lobbyist. This isn’t the whole story, granted, but it deserves telling…it’s different from those who have held the Treasurer’s office before.

Comment by RFK fan Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 8:50 pm
Oh what a tangled web we weave. This will backfire on Madigan and Quinn. Not to mention the Eddie Haskel character. No forgiveness or second chances with these upstanding citizens.
I think most voters in Illinois think this guy is not as bad as 90% of Illinois politicians. At least he tried to make amends.
Pox on all their houses.

Comment by WindyCityGardener Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 9:00 pm
Washedhands,

I find your retort comical. A politican who doesn’t tell the truth all the time?!? Shocking. SLC made a concerted effort to get his story out and he didn’t hide behind the line “let’s talk about this after the election.”

As for your “presumed” vetting of Giannoulias, how do you know? How much has come to light about the lending practices at the bank? How much has been disclosed about the ties to shady characters? If there was ever a time to discuss the “drip, drip nature of information, this would be it.

The larger issue is two-fold: First, what are absolute skeletons for candidates in the future? Who sets the standards and what are the past skeletons that won’t be tolerated? Will those be uniformily enforced, regardless of party?

Second, what is to stop the parties from usurping the will of the voters after a primary election? Why even have the primaries if the parties will use the media to thoroughly embarrass/harass a nominee they find unappealing?

We’ve only started to scratch the surface on this story.

Comment by Logical Thinker Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 9:34 pm
I am thinking of legally changing my name to SwillyBaxter, writing all the answers on my hand and buying Cohen’s voter file.
Now let’s move on the Marsha’s Brother and the Lil Lumberjack…any takers.
First QOTD should we seize the Panama Canal?

Comment by CircularFiringSquad Monday, Feb 8, 10 @ 10:40 pm